Feasibility of a virtually delivered eating disorder prevention program for young females with type 1 diabetes
- PMID: 34245038
- DOI: 10.1002/eat.23578
Feasibility of a virtually delivered eating disorder prevention program for young females with type 1 diabetes
Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to develop a virtual diabetes-specific version of the eating disorder (ED) prevention program the Body Project, and to assess feasibility and preliminary efficacy of this program for young females with type 1 diabetes.
Method: Young females with type 1 diabetes aged 16-35 years were invited to participate in the study. A total of 35 participants were allocated to five Diabetes Body Project groups (six meetings over 6 weeks) and completed pretest assessments; 26 participants completed all sessions and posttest assessments (<7 days after last meeting). Primary measures included ED risk factors and symptoms, and secondary outcomes included diabetes-specific constructs previously found to be associated with ED psychopathology (e.g., diabetes distress and illness perceptions).
Results: The ease of recruitment, timely conduct of five groups, moderate drop-out rate and appreciation of the intervention by participants indicated that the Diabetes Body Project is feasible. Meaningful reductions occurred on the primary outcomes (i.e., ED psychopathology, body dissatisfaction, and thin ideal internalization) and on internalization of appearance ideals and appearance pressures at posttest (Cohen's d ranging from .63 to .83, which are medium to large effects). Small to medium effect sizes were found for diabetes illness perceptions and distress (.41 and .48, respectively).
Discussion: The virtual Diabetes Body Project is a promising and much-needed intervention, worthy of more rigorous evaluation. A randomized controlled trial is warranted to determine its effectiveness compared with a control condition.
Keywords: body dissatisfaction; body image; diabetes mellitus, type 1; feeding and eating disorders; health psychology; population at risk; preventive programs.
© 2021 The Authors. International Journal of Eating Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
References
REFERENCES
-
- Allan, S., & Gilbert, P. (1995). A social comparison scale: Psychometric properties and relationship to psychopathology. Personality and Individual Differences, 19(3), 293-299. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(95)00086-L
-
- Bailey, A. P., Parker, A. G., Colautti, L. A., Hart, L. M., Liu, P., & Hetrick, S. E. (2014). Mapping the evidence for the prevention and treatment of eating disorders in young people. Journal of Eating Disorders, 2, 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/2050-2974-2-5
-
- Bersceid, E. J. P. T. (1973). The happy American body: A survey report. Psychology Today, 7, 119-131.
-
- Bohn, K., Doll, H. A., Cooper, Z., O'Connor, M., Palmer, R. L., & Fairburn, C. G. (2008). The measurement of impairment due to eating disorder psychopathology. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46(10), 1105-1110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2008.06.012
-
- Broadbent, E., Petrie, K. J., Main, J., & Weinman, J. (2006). The brief illness perception questionnaire. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 60(6), 631-637. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2005.10.020
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical